Training Links

Friday, October 17, 2014

First, I am proud to announce that 54 of my students have passed the CCDE Practical exam to date! Your efforts and hard work have allowed you to achieve one of the most difficult certifications available. If you haven't already done so, please join the CCDE Exclusive Linked In group by clicking on this link. This group consists only of fully-certified CCDEs and provides a way for us to share news and contact each other when necessary. About half of all CCDEs are members.. join today! :)

There are a several new announcements regarding the CCDE certification and my training:

CCDE As a Partner Requirement

Cisco has inched closer to making the CCDE certification a Partner requirement! This is great news for everyone who has achieved this certification (by my count, 233 individuals to date). It is also the perfect justification for Cisco Partners to encourage and support their employees in their pursuit of the certification. Details of the new programs can be found on Cisco's website (partner login required). The Partner Specialization that is expected to require a CCDE-certified individual is the Master Enterprise Networks Specialization, which launches in 2015.

Classroom Training Updates

I have several CCDE Practical Bootcamp classes on my training schedule for the next few months.

I have agreed to teach CCBootcamp's CCDE Practical class the week of November 10th, 2014. If you are interested in registering, please contact them at www.ccbootcamp.com or call them at 877-654-2243. Las Vegas is always a great city to visit, and this time of year is very reasonable weather-wise. It's nothing like Cisco Live's sweltering 110 degrees Fahrenheit daytime temperatures!

I am running a CCDE Practical Bootcamp in Dubai, the week of January 18th, 2015. Details can be found on my website (click here), or you can register by going directly to Eventbrite. I am offering a 15% discount if you register by the end of October. Use the promotional code 'october' when you register.

I also have a CCDE Practical Bootcamp class scheduled for the week of April 20th, 2015 in Orlando, Florida USA. Spring weather in Florida is nice, and the theme parks are great fun for the family, so considering bringing them along! Details can be found on my website, and registration is available at Eventbrite.

Online Training

I am also offering my online CCDE practice exam training in two forms. On Saturday November 1st, I will lead the first of the CCDE Practical practice exam review sessions. The second session will be on Saturday November 8th. These live Webex-based sessions allow candidates to ask questions about the CCDE program, CCDE practical exam and the practice exams that I offer. All past students are invited to attend, until they receive a passing score on Cisco's CCDE Practical exam. Details on this class can be found on my website.

If your schedule isn't flexible, my self-paced training is always available to suit your needs. Within 24 hours of registering you will receive my CCDE training materials and four practice exams. Once you complete the exams, let me know and I will provide access to recordings of the above-mentioned review sessions which explain the correct answers. Self-paced registrants are also permitted to attend any subsequent live sessions, and will be provided access to future recordings at no charge.

As always, if you have any questions about the CCDE program or these training opportunities, please email me at jeremy@filliben.com.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

During the week of March 30, 2014 I traveled to Dubai to deliver my CCDE Practical Bootcamp class. The above picture is our class photo from the week (I need to remember to do this for future classes). From left-to-right: Asad, Jeriel, Jeremy (me), Evgeny, Alexander, Hamed and Mazin. Only Hamed is a local… thank you for your hospitality! The rest traveled from Europe, Africa and the Middle East region to immerse themselves in a week of network design concepts, case studies and practice exams.
I had such a great time delivering the class that I am already planning to return to Dubai in early 2015 to teach it again. According to those who live in the area, the winter and early spring months are the best time to visit; the weather can get quite unbearable beginning in May. We hit highs of 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 C) while I was in town, which was quite a departure from the snow and ice of my hometown in the US. I couldn’t imagine trying to walk outside during the summer highs of 120 degrees F! If you are interested in attending my next Dubai class (likely January 18-23 or February 1-5, 2015) please email me and I will provide details as they become available.
As for leisure, I was able to find a bit of time in the evenings to visit the world’s largest mall and travel to the observation deck of the world’s tallest building. The Burj Khalifa is remarkably tall; I worked for some time in New York City and became accustomed to living among the skyscrapers. Even the new Liberty Tower in Manhattan does not tower over neighboring buildings in quite the same way as the Burj Khalifa. I was also able visit the Madinat Jumeirah resort and meet up with Sam, a previous student and active CCDE who lives in Dubai. Dubai is an impressive location to hold a class; I am looking forward to returning!
Thank you once more to those who attended this class, and good luck to all my friends and students who are planning to take the CCDE practical exam in May! If you’d like to learn more about my online training, please visit http://www.jeremyfilliben.com/p/self-paced-ccde-practice-exam-training.html. If you would like to attend my next CCDE bootcamp in the US, visit http://www.jeremyfilliben.com/p/ccde-practical-bootcamp.html.